This subproject is one of many research subprojects utilizing the resources provided by a Center grant funded by NIH/NCRR. The subproject and investigator (PI) may have received primary funding from another NIH source, and thus could be represented in other CRISP entries. The institution listed is for the Center, which is not necessarily the institution for the investigator. Transcript levels for various enzymes and proteins involved in murine proteoglycan biosynthesis, core proteins, and GAG recognition are being quantitated by qRT-PCR. Parallel data for proteoglycan composition in mouse ES cells and differentiated cell derivatives was obtained by Dr. Robert Linhardt (RPI), who has developed analytical strategies for proteoglycan analysis. We are coordinating the information received from Dr. Linhardt's group and comparing the results with equivalent data from our qRT-PCR analyses. Transcript levels are being compared with the glycan structures associated with proteoglycans from the equivalent cell populations and all of the information will become part of the bioinformatics module for display and further correlation analysis.